Tuesday Recruitin' Calls Its Own Number Comment Count

Ace

Today's recruiting roundup covers Michigan commits as they progress through high school playoff season, USC's latest decommitment and its possible impact on Leon McQuay III, an emerging name along the offensive line, and more.

Jake Butt: TE/DE/OC?

Michigan commits and cross-town rivals faced off for the second time this season as Jake Butt's Pickerington North squad took on Taco Charlton and Pickerington Central in the first round of Ohio's Division I playoffs on Saturday; the result was similar to their first meeting of the year, as North once again shut out Central, this time 24-0, to advance to the next round. Butt was the star for North, even calling his own number to tally a 29-yard score:

“It’s called a hitch-and-go, and he threw me the perfect pass,” said Butt, who had five catches for 122 yards. “I’d been seeing that the play was open throughout the entire game.”



“Jake Butt called that play,” North coach Tom Phillips said. “He saw it and I said, ‘Just be patient.’”

The future Wolverine tight end also tallied a tackle for loss on defense as North held Central to a paltry 93 yards of total offense.

Elsewhere in Ohio's opening playoff round, cornerback commit Ross Douglas rushed for 262 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries, with 212 of those yards coming in the second half, as Avon pulled out a 28-11 victory over Perrysburg. Ben Gedeon carried the ball 18 times for 104 yards and two scores to lead Hudson to an upset over three-seed Canton GlenOak. Gareon Conley—yes, still a commit at this moment—had TD catches of 28 yards and one yard and also scored on a reverse as Massillon defeated Nordonia 63-34.

In Division II action, both Mike McCray (36-yard TD, video here) and Jaron Dukes (5 catches, 66 yards, 1 TD) recorded touchdown receptions as both Trotwood-Madison and Marion-Franklin moved on to the second round with blowout victories. Junior commit Michael Ferns caught touchdowns of 14 and 35 yards for St. Clairsville, which defeated Harrison Central 41-6 in the first round of the Division IV playoffs.

Seasons ended for a pair of Ohio commits, unfortunately, as a banged-up Dymonte Thomas was limited to 79 rushing yards in a 38-0 loss to Poland, while DeVeon Smith's 147 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries weren't enough to overcome Chardon in a 42-16 first-round defeat.

Cass Tech's Jourdan Lewis hauled in a 43-yard touchdown catch in a 42-23 district final win over Dearborn more noteworthy for the work of two running backs—junior Gary Hosey had 143 yards and two scores on 15 carries, while sophomore Mike Weber toted the rock 20 times for 178 yards and a TD. In another Division I district final, Wyatt Shallman had nine tackles, three TFLs, three sacks, and several QB hurries from his defensive end spot in a 45-17 win over Walled Lake Northern, according to his father.

Tim Sullivan caught Malik McDowell in action as Detroit Loyola defeated University Liggett, 50-7, last weekend, and he has free video and a scouting report available over at The Wolverine. McDowell tallied four sacks, all in the first half.

[For the rest of the roundup, including the latest on Leon McQuay III, hit THE JUMP.]

USC: Lose A Safety, Gain The Edge For McQuay?

USC has long been presumed to be very much in the mix—and possibly the leader—for FL DB Leon McQuay III, but they've been full with 18 commits in a sanction-limited class. They're full no more, as CA ATH Max Redfield—expected to play safety for the Trojans—decommited on Sunday night. It didn't take long for McQuay to set up an official visit to USC for December 7th; he'll be in Ann Arbor this weekend and also has taken officials Vanderbilt and Oregon. While Tremendous notes that USC would have tried to take McQuay regardless of Redfield's status—several other Trojan commits are looking around—the timing of him setting up the visit is noteworthy; this could be a double whammy for Michigan as Redfield currently favors Notre Dame, as well.

Etc.

Tremendous also has an update on the offensive line situation, as they caught up with MD OL Na'Ty Rodgers—Michigan has been in contact with the four-star since David Dawson decommited, and while they still haven't offered there appears to be mutual interest, with Rodgers planning to set up a visit after his season. South Carolina currently leads for him, but the situation could alter if the Wolverines come through with an offer.

Another name to watch on the offensive line is FL five-star Laremy Tunsil, a prospect we haven't heard about for quite some time. Sam Webb posted on The Victors Board that Michigan is back in contact with Tunsil and the behemoth tackle has shown some interest, even considering a visit for the Iowa game($); while that would be great news, Michigan is still an extreme longshot, with Alabama and Georgia considered the two favorites.

Allen Trieu caught 2014 OL offeree Tommy Doles in GRC's game against Zeeland West($), saying he's "another who has to add a little weight, but he is a technician with great footwork, knee bend and smarts." Michigan appears to hold an early edge for Doles.

Rivals named 2014 VA S Quin Blanding, who recently named Michigan to his top ten, as one of their early five-stars in the junior class.

Comments

HarBooYa

November 6th, 2012 at 11:55 AM ^

I for one, am going to now get my hopes irrationally up for Larry Tunsil.

Combine him with the new Chicago recruit and thats about 700 lbs and 13 feet of man there.

profitgoblue

November 6th, 2012 at 12:08 PM ^

We have to have at least one recruit to have irrational high hopes for.  Each year there is at least one heartbreaker, I think.  Dee Hart is the only one that really sticks out to me at the moment but the true recruiting experts here could probably tell you which one or two there have been each year.

Profwoot

November 6th, 2012 at 5:50 PM ^

I sympathize with your point, but it seems to be based on an assumption that Pryor's behavior wasn't affected by OSU's culture, and wouldn't have been affected by UM's. Perhaps we should doubly lament missing on Pryor, not only regarding his athletic talents, but also his character.

m83econ

November 6th, 2012 at 3:13 PM ^

Looking near term, the prospects for the '13 kids you mention have dimmed considerably.  Seems like the rule of thumb is that if a prospect has resisted committing this long, chance are it's an indication Michigan is really not where they want to be.

M-Wolverine

November 6th, 2012 at 12:08 PM ^

Was it because of Hoke's visit policy?  Because I thought that was the only reason any player decommits in college football....

WMU81

November 6th, 2012 at 12:51 PM ^

I started to really pay attention to Michigan recruiting with Dee Hart.. I thought the dude was the cats meow..I have since learned that 5 stars and all star games dont mean anything. You never know what your gonna get. ( look at the 5 star, #1 QB Gilbert from Texas for example)

Magnus

November 6th, 2012 at 12:58 PM ^

Well, you haven't started paying ENOUGH attention, because then you would know that high star ratings correlate to production in college (although obviously it's not guarantee).  A 5-star like Gilbert is more likely to pan out than 4-stars or 3-stars...

chewieblue

November 6th, 2012 at 2:58 PM ^

Watched Ben Gedeon live and was very impressed. As a runner, he shows the physical play that could make him special. We can laugh at the "man ball" meme all we want, but the tougher and more physical we get, the better we will be. This kid is a step in the right direction.

msom4202

November 6th, 2012 at 3:01 PM ^

Every other player we're considering is irrelevant. These average linebackers and linemen we're trying to get will eventually lead us to the "OH" so familiar feeling of ... "why dont we have athletes like OSU? or every other team in the entire NCAA?"  Im tired of Michigan going after these non-athletic garbage players that everyone sees as a "safe option". NO!!!! We need athletes and pure blooded football players.  We need to set all our sights on McQuay and Treadwell, if we dont sign both of them ill consider this years recruiting class a fail.  We have just enough to get by and not enough to be a relevant contender.  There is absolutely no excuse for Hoke not to sign those two.  Seems like every team in the top 10 classes has at least 1 or more true athletes and stars on either side of the ball. Whos our star? Besides Morris. USC coming off all those sanctions and they still manage to have the #1 recruiting class and sign players like Cravens, gain high interest from McQuay and sign the #2 QB Max Browne. Theres no excuse for Michigan who is argueably the most prestigious team in history.  Signing McQuay and Treadwell can get us back on track to being Elite. Anything else is Horsesh#t!!

WolvinLA2

November 6th, 2012 at 3:22 PM ^

Is this a joke? This better be a joke. What "athletes" does OSU's class have that we don't have? They have Burrows, we have Dymonte. We have Ben Gedeon and Mike McCray. We have incredible O and D linemen. We have a top QB.

Why am I even biting on this, I don't know. We have a great class. We can't compete with OSU? We have a better class than they do.

msom4202

November 7th, 2012 at 9:34 PM ^

Its sad i have to say this because im a die hard of all die hard UM fans, but Minds like yours are the reason we came into the season ranked #8 because guys like you overrated the guys we have, ending in the ultimate turmoil of a hypothetically "Relevant" season and being embarrassed on national TV 41-14 fair and square.  Our players get hyped up because they play for Michigan and they turn out the same these past 6 years.  You guys really need to get your heads out of your asses and look around. Compare top 5 teams and their talent to ours. Oh wait your right... THERES NO COMPARISON. You guys still havent explained to me who our stars are besides Denard, whether on O or D... I'll wait.

msom4202

November 7th, 2012 at 9:39 PM ^

And im not just saying OSU im talking everywhere else also.  The SEC and the far West have all the athleticism and talent.  Look at a team like LSU/Bama/Florida, mostly black players on O and Defensive line, all pure athletes, they have athletic WR's, RB's, and even on defense they have huge fast and athletic LB's. Thats the reason why teams in the SEC control the trenches and dominate teams in other conferences.  The south has naturally bigger and faster guys just like Lee Corso said a few saturdays ago. Until Hoke can go out and recruit real athletes in the south such as a Leon McQuay, i think Michigan will continue to bite at the ankles of the Elite and never succomb to legit relevance in a while. And your niave to think OSU has no athletes. Thats why their undefeated.

DenverBuckeye

November 6th, 2012 at 4:21 PM ^

Michigan has a fantastic recruiting class. Yes, the strength of it is on the lines, but that isn't a bad thing. I'd love to have a couple of your OL recruits go to OSU. If you're referencing the Marshall, Elliott, Burrows, or Woodard type guys that OSU has, well you guys do have Thomas, McCray, and Gedeon. I don't think you guys are going to see the Marshall or Elliott types as much under Hoke. They just don't fit what Hoke is looking for in RBs or WRs. Get used to big power backs and tall, powerful WRs. In the right system, though, they can be elite.

msom4202

November 6th, 2012 at 3:11 PM ^

Also alot of people don realize that alot of the recruits take into consideration (as lame as it sounds) the uniforms.  Adidas is killing us right now. Yellow pants already make us look a little on the Jenny Craig side but just everything about our jerseys make us look sloppy. When i see defensive backs running around with shoulder pads the size of lineman pads it baffles me how Adidas designs their stuff. Its horrible. Michigan state shows us up everytime we play with those Nike Elite jersey designs, (new ones every year). Nike jerseys are just much more sleek and are more up with the times. Adidas takes us back to 95 when everyone sported loose sleeves and short jerseys with their bellys hanging out.  Hopefully UM signs with Nike in '17.

Tacopants

November 6th, 2012 at 6:53 PM ^

I'm sure jerseys, while playing some part in recruiting ultimately are not very important.

Here's a list of things probably more important to recruits

Depth Chart

Ability to produce NFL talent

TV exposure

Proximity to home

climate

Girls (sorry Cal Tech)

campus amenities

Head Coach/Coordinator/Position Coach

Academics

 

It's nice to have special jerseys, but somehow doubtful that a recruit would pick MSU over Michigan and the tiebreaker was chrome helmets.

msom4202

November 8th, 2012 at 7:19 PM ^

This is an excerpt from a Leon McQuay interview with ESPN just posted. You can go look right now: http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/ncfrecruiting/on-the-trail/post?id=22871

 

Leon Says:

"It was a great experience. You actually have to visit and see the place in person to do it justice and [to] get a full impact of what's going on there," McQuay Jr. said. "Everything about it was great. All the way down to how many uniform combinations they have."